BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!

Artists often find a sacrificial lamb to add spice to their work. From family members to former lovers, no one is safe from an inspired artists’ palette. In his latest film, director Guy Maddin throws himself on the canvas and explores his nascent sexuality in BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!

In an interview with Sundance Channel online, Maddin tells us that he felt it was important to explore blossoming sexuality from a non-exploitive view in his silent film BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! At that, he succeeds. Taking place on an island and within the shadow of a lighthouse, BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! recalls a time in Maddin's life when the world was small and mother (Gretchen Krich) loomed large with the ability to discover all secrets; when dad (Todd Jefferson Moore) was physically present but emotionally absent; when older sis (Maya Lawson) was the greatest source of envy for her brother (Sullivan Brown as child/Erik Maahs as adult). The island also serves as an orphange in which the children provide the “nectar” of youth to Guy's age-obsessed mother. When teenage sleuth Chance Hale (Katherine E. Scharhon) arrives to investigate holes found in the heads of children adopted from the island the mundane routines of life quickly unravel.

Maddin treads where few filmmakers dare – back into silent film. It’s a risky proposition in an era when American audiences aren’t particularly interested in reading subtitles, black and white film is nearly a kiss of death and what, no dialogue?!? In this day and age, with witty repartee now the mark of an intelligent filmmaker and special effects standard fare for eye-candy hungry audiences, Maddin proves the tricks of the trade that made the movie magic of yesteryear are still valuable today. Like a resolute anthropologist, Maddin unearths an old gem that reveals just as much about the present as it does the past.



Maddin wisely brings three foley artists - Caoimhe Doyle, Stephan Fraticelli and Marilee Yorston - out from the studio and puts them in front of his beautiful, grainy black and white chaos of seductive images. Audiences are given a peek into the world of foley artists’ secrets, such as how bone-crunching noises are produced, wind is generated and seagulls call. Dressed in lab coats like the mad scientist Dad of the film, never missing a cue and performing with enthusiasm, the foley artists add an extra dose of delightful absurdity to the show.

Opposite the foley artists sits an orchestra which plays the tender, haunting score composed by Jason Stecezek. Adding to the auditory mélange is castrato Dov Houle, a.k.a. the Manitoba Meadowlark. Maddin told Sundance Channel, “I was in a steam bath in Winnipeg daydreaming about movies when I heard this unearthly voice, a very female sounding voice coming from the thick steam. The steam sort of parted and I saw a forty-five year old man sitting there, no body hair, this little girl’s voice and we struck up a friendship.” A year later Maddin shot extra scenes to ensure Houle would make the final cut and “goat gland” BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!

The final ingredient in Maddin’s auditory recipe is the use of an interlocutor, a sort of emcee combined with a narrator. The interlocutor guides the film’s tone with varying degrees of gentle handholding, outrage and sardonic humor. New York audiences were treated to guest appearances by Crispin Glover , Isabella Rossellini, Lou Reed, Anne Jackson, Eli Wallach, Joie Lee, Laurie Anderson, Justin Bond, John Ashbery, Tunde Adebimpe, Edward Hibbert and Peter Scarlet.

BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! is scheduled to make its way around the US this summer with shows in Colorado, Illinois, Texas and Washington. More cities are expected to be added soon.

Production photos by Adam L. Weintraub. Performance photo by Margot Gerber.